HOW WOULD THIS ACTION PLAY IN WINNEBAGO COUNTY

Below is an article from the Eau Claire area newspaper talking about a possible action tat Fau Claire County may do to help pay for road projects in that county.

I like to know what you think about this proposal.

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Updated: 9/26/2007

Wheels of fortune

Proposed 'wheel tax' earnings would be used for road repairs

By Andrew Dowd
Leader-Telegram staff

Eau Claire County could become only the second county in the state to charge a $10 annual vehicle registration fee if the County Board approves a proposal by County Administrator J. Thomas McCarty.

McCarty in his proposed 2008 budget recommends adding the fee to all vehicles registered in the county, which he said would generate about $750,000 a year to repair county roads.

"I wouldn't recommend doing it unless it is strictly tied to roads," McCarty said.

McCarty's budget recommendation assists the Finance and Budget Committee in creating its draft of the 2008 budget before it gets to the full County Board in mid-November for a vote.

The county Highway Committee proposed increased road repairs for the next three years, which would add about $2.7 million to the road work budget. That increase could be paid for through property taxes or by approving the $10 county registration fee, also known as a "wheel tax."

"The legislation has existed for many years, but there've been few municipalities or counties that utilized it," McCarty said.

The Wisconsin Counties Association knows of only one county, St. Croix, that has instituted a wheel tax, said Matt Stohr, a lobbyist with the association.

The St. Croix County Board passed its $10 registration fee in August, with about two-thirds of the board approving, said St. Croix County Administrative Coordinator Charles Whiting. Roads maintained by that county have slipped to a 45-year repair cycle in recent years - a situation similar to Eau Claire County.

"It's a common problem for any municipality or county with a road system to maintain," Whiting said.

The new $10 fee will add about $700,000 annually to St. Croix County's road budget.

State legislators also have seen the registration fee as a revenue source. Budget proposals from the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-dominated Assembly both include increasing the state vehicle registration fee from $55 to $75. If approved, the $10 county vehicle registration fee would be collected by the state and returned to the county, minus a 10-cent handling fee per vehicle.

If Eau Claire County's Finance and Budget Committee agrees to the increased road repairs, about 25 to 28 miles could be fixed in each of the next three years instead of the average 10 miles.

If the county borrows to pay for the road work, paying off the debt could add $300,000 to the property tax levy in the first year but reach up to $1 million before it is all paid off, McCarty said.

The wheel tax would be used to pay off that borrowing or just add $750,000 to the county's present ability to fix roads each year, McCarty said.

The average mile of road maintained by Eau Claire County will be refurbished once every 42 or 43 years under current funding. Roads are built with an expected lifespan of 25 to 30 years before significant repairs are needed.

"From a highway standpoint, we're a number of years behind schedule," Finance Director Scott Rasmussen said.

County Highway Commissioner Tom Walther said he hopes the increased revenue would get the repair schedule to every 30 years.

Dowd can be reached at 833-9204, 800-236-7077 or andrew.dowd@ecpc.com.


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-INTERESTING ARTICLE FROM UW-MADISON STUDENT PAPER

Sorry for the long time between posts

September 25, 2007

Obama to visit Madison soon, student group says By: Natasha Phelps /The Daily Cardinal Students For Barack Obama announce the lllinois Senator will make an appearence in Madison in the coming weeks

Students for Barack Obama hosted Gov. Jim Doyle’s son, Gus, District 8 alder Eli Judge and state Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, Thursday.
U.S. Senator, and Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, will make a trip to Madison sometime in the coming weeks, Students for Barack Obama announced at their kickoff Thursday.
UW-Madison supporters packed a Grainger lecture hall in support of the student-led campaign for the presidential hopeful. “I think that there was a very raw passion to the people,” SFBO Chair Andy Gordon said of the audience.
Keynote speakers included Gus Doyle, Gov. Jim Doyle’s son, Madison’s District 8 alder Eli Judge and state Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh.
Hintz, who was elected last year in large part to his opposition to the marriage ban, said he believes Obama is the one Presidential candidate who tells the people of the United States “what we can instead of what we can’t.” Judge spoke briefly about his past involvement with Wisconsin’s LGBT organization and the Fair Wisconsin campaign.
He said Obama’s record is “phenomenal” and went on to endorse him for the 2008 presidency mainly because of Obama’s dedication to the preservation of human rights.
Besides supporting his father during his campaign trial, Gus Doyle has not played a substantive role in politics. Since graduating with a psychology degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., Doyle has balanced his success in real estate while finishing up graduate school at UW-Whitewater and being a single father.
However, with such a vital election nearing, Doyle said he chose to become involved.
“It was a recent decision that I come out with my endorsement … anything that I can do to help [Obama] out with his efforts—I’m there,” he said, while noting his endorsement was not necessarily an extension of his father’s views.
Doyle said after being “mislead, misrepresented, and misinformed … people are ready for a change—and that change is Barack Obama.”